Note:
The following is a copy of a letter sent to Judith A. Wilson,
Superintendent of Schools, and Anne Burns, President, Board of
Education. It was co-signed by ten other parents of Princeton
Regional School students.

Parisian
Bookseller Sylvia Beach Is Buried in Princeton Cemetery

To
the Editor:

I want to add a footnote to Stuart Mitchner's
interesting art review of the "Portraits of the Lost Generation"
exhibit at Firestone Library, featuring Sylvia Beach and her bookstore,
Shakespeare and Company (Town Topics, March 16).

Ms. Beach
not only grew up in Princeton, but she is buried here, in Princeton
Cemetery. Her small gravestone is numbered 4 on the cemetery map.

GEORGE
D. CODY Bainbridge Street

November
Break at Princeton Schools Should Come During Thanksgiving Week

To
the Editor:

It must seem obvious that giving students an
extra week of vacation so early in the school year could not possibly
serve their best educational interests. I'd like to raise another
issue.

Did anyone stop to consider the cost to families
with two working parents before deciding to close the schools
for a week early in November, a month that already has four half-day
closings for parent-teacher conferences and a two-and-a-half day
break for Thanksgiving? It's possible to juggle the half-days
and the two-day vacation that enables teachers to attend the New
Jersey teachers' conference, but a whole week at a busy time of
year is another matter. And although one might argue that it is
merely an inconvenience for those with some control over their
work schedule and money for baby-sitters, there are many Princeton
families with little flexibility in their work schedules and who
lack the means to pay for additional childcare. What are people
to do? Leave their children home alone? Bring them to work?

It is important to meet the professional development needs of
the teachers, but why not pick a month that does not already contain
six days without school? And if it must be November, then why
not take the three days prior to the Thanksgiving break for professional
development? Since Thursday is a national holiday, most work schedules
tend to be more relaxed that week, and many people might actually
welcome a few extra travel days. Surely this would make just as
much sense in meeting the teachers' professional development goals,
and it would be a great deal more convenient for working parents.

CLAIRE FOWLER Prospect Avenue

School
Board Admonished for Failing To Seek Parental Input on Calendar

Note:
The following is a copy of a letter sent to Judith A. Wilson,
Superintendent of Schools, and Anne Burns, President, Board of
Education. It was co-signed by ten other parents of Princeton
Regional School students.

To the Editor:

Parents
of Princeton Regional School students were recently notified that
this fall, schools will be closed for an entire week at the beginning
of November. This action has triggered a groundswell of protest
from parents who oppose interrupting their children's education
for a week so early in the academic year. In the midst of this
controversy, there are two broader issues that deserve attention.

First, the board of education and superintendent should not make
major changes in the school calendar without seeking input from
parents. By giving parents an opportunity to be heard before decisions
are made, the school administration could ensure a constructive
and collaborative role for parents. By contrast, when the board
and superintendent announce a change as a fait accompli, parents
are given little choice but to engage in protest after the fact.
Consensus is preferable to confrontation, but consensus is possible
only if parents are included in the process of decision making.

Second, the design of the school calendar, like other school policies,
must be undertaken with sensitivity to the needs of working families.
A substantial percentage of Princeton public school students live
with a single working parent or two parents who both work full-time.
Giving students an entire week off in November will hit these
working parents particularly hard. The announcement of the new
school calendar came in the midst of a rash of hastily-scheduled
snow days, late openings, and early closings, which created significant
hardship for working families in our community. The superintendent
and board of education need to redouble their efforts to demonstrate
their understanding of the fact that many students do not have
a parent at home full time, and their commitment to minimizing
the disruption inflicted on working families.

Unpredictable Collection Schedule
Blamed for Brush Piles in Street

Note: The following
is a copy of a letter sent to Township Mayor Phyllis Marchand.

To
the Editor:

I try hard to follow the ever-changing rules
of branch pick-up in our Township. Others less law-abiding than
I have put their brush in the street as fancy moves them, which
has made a dangerous mess of our streets. What I don't understand
is why my brush is not picked up whereas theirs is.

In
January, following the third-Monday-of-the-month rule, I phoned
the Department of Public Works to be certain the pick-up would
be made that week. I was told that January's pick-up was being
done in an unscheduled manner, and that Cuyler Road had already
been swept clean. So I kept my winter's collection of branches
stacked in my back yard. This is reminiscent of the summer two
years ago when I kept my brush out of the street, obedient to
the notice that there would be no pick-up in July or in August.
When heavy rains prevented Township workers from mending potholes,
they instead picked up the branches of scofflaws who'd left their
branches out. Once again, I followed the rules and lost out, while
those who thwarted them won out.

Certain that February's
pick-up would take place, I hauled my decomposing branches out
to the street, careful not to do it too soon. Then I learned from
the March 9 issue of Town Topics that our next pick-up, with more
new rules, will take place in April. My lonely piles of brush
sit in the street. Last year we had branch pick-up in February
and in March. Why couldn't I have expected the same service this
year? Must I return my brush to my back yard?

I try hard
to be a good citizen. However, the ever-changing rules and unpredictable
branch pick-up schedule have made it difficult to be a happy citizen.

After years of concern from staff regarding
the high volume of strangers in school buildings during Election
Day, we appreciate the efforts of the administration and the Princeton
Regional Board of Education to amend our calendar.

In-service
workshops presented in November will allow us the opportunity
to refine our professional practices so that we may apply them
for the remainder of the school year. We applaud this new approach
by the district leadership.

Regional
Health Commissioner Urges Statewide Ban on Workplace Smoking

To
the Editor:

Why Not New Jersey?

Eighty-five percent
of New Jerseyans are non-smokers. Eighty-one percent of voters
believe second hand smoke is a serious health threat. And 85 percent
of voters agree that all New Jersey workers should be protected
from second hand smoke in the work place.

New Jersey's
smoking laws for indoor work and public places are among the weakest
in the U.S. In 2000, the Princeton Regional Health Commission
passed a local ordinance prohibiting smoking in all public places
in the Township and Borough. Evidence of the deleterious effects
of environmental tobacco smoke on non-smokers was so strong that
the Commission was compelled to act in order to protect the health
of people who work or live in our community. The ordinance was
struck down in court with the judge stating that only the State
Legislature can act in public smoking matters. Workers and others
should not be exposed to someone else's bad habit. It's time our
State representatives acted to protect the health of the 85 percent
of the public that does not smoke, by making all work and public
places safe from polluted indoor air.

Persons exposed to
environmental smoke have higher rates of heart disease and cancer.
Last year, the Centers for Disease Control warned people at risk
of heart disease to avoid places that allow indoor smoking. In
New Jersey, people who work in smoke-filled places, particularly
bars and restaurants, are compelled to breathe the deadly brew
of 250 chemicals which compose tobacco smoke, in order to earn
a living. This is not right.

Ten states have statewide
smoking prohibitions. Such legislation has come before our State
Representatives many times in the last several years, only to
be relegated to inaction. Even Ireland has banned smoking in public
places, including pubs. In Princeton, local restaurant owners
stated that if Princeton banned smoking in bars and restaurants,
patrons would go to other municipalities to dine. They felt that
a statewide ban on smoking in public places would level the playing
field for all bars and restaurants in the state. This is a fairer
and more desirable outcome than just permitting each municipality
to enact its own ordinance.

It's time to pass the Smoke-Free
Air Act, Senate Bill S-1926, and have New Jersey be included in
the list of states that are leaders in promoting a safe and healthful
environment for every one. Let your legislature know that you
want this health protection.